Historian and writer Betsy Gaines Quammen examines the intersections of extremism, public lands, wildlife, and western communities. She received a PhD in History from Montana State University, a MS in Environmental Studies from University of Montana, and a BA in English from Colorado College. Gaines Quammen is the author of American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God, and Public Lands in the West. She lives in Bozeman, Montana, with her spouse, writer David Quammen.